


Candle

by MaeaStorm



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Gore, I don't know how to tag really, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Krogan-centric, Torture, Whump, graphic description of gore, mutual bonding, so i guess that's good?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 16,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeaStorm/pseuds/MaeaStorm
Summary: Krogan wakes up, alone and unable to see, in pain in the bowels of the dragon hunter's abandoned base, left to die by the ones he deemed his allies, with no clue as to how he got into this position, and only his dragon to guide him, as he finds out about the bounty on his head, from Viggo himself, and learns to make new allies of the Dragon Riders.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Krogan & His Dragon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! First time posting on AO3, so I hope you guys enjoy! You can contact me with any questions about the story, as long as they don't have to do with the plot here, or on tumblr at reallyprofoundkryptonyte, otherwise known as Maea. If you simply want to talk I'm fine with that as well! Hope you guys enjoy, as this is my first time ever really earning the courage to post my works publicly...

_ Drip... _

_ Drip... _

_ Drip... _

Krogan’s head throbs with the rhythm of the water splatting against stone.

He cinches his eyebrows together with a soft grunt.

Slowly, his awareness wanes, and he sinks back into the void of unconsciousness.

The air around him is ice cold and biting when his awareness returns, biting at his bare shoulders and feet.

His eyes have a dull, hollow ache swelling behind them, feeling not unlike there is something pushing them against their sockets. 

Krogan moans softly. hissing softly at the sharp stabs of pain in his hips when he shifts his legs closer to himself. 

Krogan slowly peels his eyes open, steeling himself for the violent stabs of agonising light that he was sure would penetrate his eyes. 

There was nothing, though. Not even a flicker of light, or of shapes in the darkness. Just the same, dull black void that’d been there when he’d had his eyes closed. 

Or did he still have them closed?

Krogan blinked.

No, they were definitely open. 

There was just…  _ nothing _ .

“Wha..” 

Krogan glances around.

Still nothing but darkness.

Krogan rubbed his fingers against the rough, cold stone, and then moved them behind him, feeling for the wall.

Krogan finds the rough stone of the wall, and slowly starts to pull himself to his feet, only to give a sharp yelp, as his legs collapse from underneath him as he halfway stood up.

He tumbles to the floor, his left hand being crushed underneath himself as he fumbles to catch himself.

Pain tingles up his arm from his wrist, and Krogan huffs quietly.

Krogan rolls himself over, and cradles his throbbing wrist to his chest. 

Slowly, exhaustion begins to creep into his mind, curling its thick, gooey tentacles around him, and Krogan lets it lull him back to sleep.

It’s still unbearably cold when Krogan peels his eyes open to the very same, black nothingness that greeted him beforehand.

The water has started dripping again, and now Krogan can hear the sound of rain thudding against the roof somewhere far above him.

Krogan slowly sits up, pushing his arms underneath himself, squinting slightly, trying to get a grasp at his surroundings, to no avail. It’s still just blackness.

Krogan pulls his knees to his chest, and wraps his arms around them, just as a sharp, chilly draft of air bites at the bare skin of his back.

Biting his lower lip, Krogan debated on whether or not he should get up, and try and find warmth, or just lay back down to go to sleep.

He blinks again, and shifts his eyes through the blackness. It’s all just nothingness, and whenever he tries focusing on anything, that same, hollow, agonizing throbbing begins to build behind his eyes again. 

He shifted against the floor, until he turned himself around once again. 

He placed both of his hands against the wall, and pulled himself to his feet. 

Krogan blinks slowly, and starts running his right hand along the wall next to him, slowly coming to the conclusion that he’s in a corner of a stone room, by running his other hand along the other side of him.

Krogan moves so that he only has one hand touching the wall, and the other outstretched into the black abyss.

Krogan knew there had to be another wall somewhere, and that this room had to have a door, he just had to follow the wall to the door.

He took his first, shaky step, pausing to slide his hand across the wall, and then, he repeated the process, slowly.

When the tips of Krogan’s fingers reached the other wall, a shock of excitement hit him. He’d gotten this far, what was stopping him now?

Krogan pushed onward, moving a little faster, having now gotten the hang of moving around in the black abyss, until the fingers of his right hand brushed against the smooth, cold metal of a door.

Krogan faces the door, and begins fingering around the expanse of metal, searching for a handle of some sort.

Krogan pushes at the door, and his fingers are suddenly floating in the black abyss, no longer attached to any anchor. 

Everything is still pitch black, even though the door is open. 

‘ _ I’m...  _ blind _? _ ‘ The realization makes his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. There was no denying it anymore- he was completely blind.

Krogan blinked again, and flailed his arms uselessly, until one of his hands landed on the doorframe.

He slowly pulled himself from the room, and into the completely silent hallway. 

Krogan placed a hand on the doorframe, and ran it across the short distance it took for it to turn back to stone.

He knew there should have been torches on the walls to provide light in the corridor, but he still couldn’t see them. 

Krogan shook his head, and pulled his left hand up to his face. He squinted and strained his eyes, desperately trying to see at least the silhouette of his fingers and palm in the darkness, but all that did was make his eyes start to throb again.

The corner of Krogan’s eyes start to tingle, and he blinks, his throat tightening. 

Wetness dribbles down his cheeks, and his eyes begin to burn once again, as he slides to the floor, defeated.

Krogan tries to keep his rattling sobs from growing too loud, as he still has no clue if there’s anybody else out there, but it’s not long before his sobs are loudly piercing the still air of the corridor. 

It seems like hours that he sits there, sobbing hysterically, before he’s snot-nosed and hiccuping, thoroughly exhausted, with aching bones from laying on the hard stone floor, and it’s getting hard to keep his eyes open.

Krogan’s eyes droop slightly, and he hiccups a final time, before drifting off against the wall.


	2. Chapter One

Krogan is awoken by a few gentle nudges to his side.

He moans softly, and opens his eyes to the black void.

A soft croon, and another nudge.

Krogan reaches out, and finds his fingers rubbing against smooth, scaly skin, which is warm to the touch.

Krogan runs his fingers up a smooth horn, and he groans, pulling his hand away from the horn.

Warm air stifles across his stomach, and another croon meets his ears.

Then, something wet crawls its way up his stomach.

“Juniper!” Krogan yelps, and stumbles to his feet, hearing an excited garble come from the animal.

It had to be his dragon, he knew that, as she bumped into his side again excitedly.

Krogan looked around in the black abyss, and sighs, feeling his dragon rub her head along his stomach with a loving croon.

He runs a hand gently across her snout, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

“How did you find me, big girl?” he asks quietly, running his other hand along the bottom of her snout.

She chortles at him, and he laughs softly.

“Are you hungry, girl?” he asks.

Krogan chuckles at the sharp snort he gets in reply.

“You are going to have to bring me there, then, alright girl?”

Juniper’s short cry makes him sigh.

As he stands to his full height, and places a hand on her side, he can feel her staring at him. She knows.

Krogan’s bare stomach is once again assaulted by a sloppy lick, and he yelps.

“Juniper! What have I told you about doing that?” He scolds. He’s able to imagine the doofy, tongue-lolling look she’s giving him.

Krogan places a hand on her side again, and she begins walking, so he does too.

It isn’t long before Krogan is able to pick up the soft calls of birds in the distance, and the smell of fresh air wafting through the tunnel. He blinks. Juniper must be leading him to the lake.

Not like he minded, some sun would feel nice after everything he’d gone through.

Krogan’s feet hit grass suddenly, and he paused to dig his toes into the soil.

Juniper croons at him worriedly, and he places a hand on her snout.

“I’m fine June Bug.” He purrs softly, and she warbles, before beginning to walk again.

The sun feels nice against his back, and Krogan simply follows Juniper’s lead, until she pushes him to the ground, with a soft croon.

She nuzzles her head into his stomach again, purring softly.

“What do ya’ want, girl?” 

She coils herself around him, and Krogan sighs softly, running a hand down Juniper’s snout when she lays it in his lap.

He knew he’d eventually have to go get food, but for now, he was comfortable with laying with his dragon in the sun.

________________________

Krogan snapped awake from his dozing by a loud crash.

He quickly sat up, disturbing Juniper in the process, who gave a distressed cry.

Everything was still pitch black, as he’d become accustomed to, but he could still feel that something was very off.

He fumbled to his feet, and placed a hand on Juniper’s side.

She snorted, obviously unhappy that her human had decided to get up, but she got to her feet anyways.

Krogan listened intently for any more noises, his eyes darting aimlessly around the blackness.

Juniper rumbled, and bumped his side.

Krogan took a few steps away from her, still desperately searching for more noises, when he heard it- footsteps. 

The sound of grass crunching underneath booted feet was the only warning he got before he was shoved harshly to the ground by a heavy weight.

He yelped, and tried forcing himself back out from underneath Juniper’s weight, only for her to give a low growl of warning.

“Juniper! Get off!”

Krogan shimmied his head out from underneath his dragon, and blinked.

It definitely didn’t help, as Juniper immediately shoved him back underneath herself, and gave a sharp, shrill cry.

“Stupid dragon! Why aren’t you flying away?” a woman snarls angrily.

Krogan shoves himself back out from underneath his dragon.

“Because she’s  _ my _ dragon, and she’s protecting me.”

He hears the woman give a startled yelp from next to him, and he turns towards her.

“I don’t appreciate you calling her stupid, either.” he growls lowly, and he feels his back heat up slightly.

He smirks, knowing Juniper was completely ready to fire when he gave the order.

“You- you’re  _ blind _ ?”

Krogan blinks, and then narrows his eyes, baring his teeth slightly.

“What makes you say that, girl?” he grits out, balling his hands into fists.

“Unless you were born with milky white eyes, I’m pretty sure you’re blind, genius.” She snaps, “and I also have to ask what you, of all people, are doing at an abandoned hunter base, of all places? Shouldn’t you be with your buddies,” 

Krogan blinks dumbfoundedly, raising his head in shock. That’s why the tunnels were all so quiet. They’d left him there to die. Alone.

He snarls angrily.

“How do you know me, girl?”

She doesn’t say anything, from what he can hear, but Juniper’s long, low growl would have definitely drowned out her answer.

She speaks again, although, this time, it’s mocking. 

“Word gets around quickly, Krogan.”

He tilts his head slightly.

“...You’re a dragon rider.”

He hears her laugh.

“... You could say that…”

Alarm bells ring in the back of his head. Krogan doesn’t like the way she said that. He doesn't like that at all. 

He takes a step back, and Juniper leans her head over his shoulder, snarling a threat of pain if the woman dares come any closer. 

“As it turns out, one Viggo Grimborn is looking for you, Krogan.” she purrs, and Krogan reaches an arm up around Juniper’s neck. “He wants you back so badly that he put a 20,000 gold bounty on your head, dear.”

Viggo. Krogan snarls loudly. 

Viggo must have been the reason why he was blind. It had to be.

This was his cue to leave. He quickly turns around, and scrambles up onto Juniper’s back from her shoulder.

“You know that slimy bastard won’t pay you, right lady?” he crows from Juniper’s back and he hears her laugh.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure he will, Krogan.”

Krogan leaned down.

“Juniper, sky.”

She shrieked, and Krogan dug his fingers into the scales of her neck, as she immediately took to the air.

Krogan had personally never ridden her without anything to use to hold on to, like her harness, let alone with bare feet, so as she ascended into the sky, he was holding on for dear life, let alone the fact that the wind made his eyes sting, and his head spin.

He heard the woman give a frustrated yell, before everything went dark.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter Chapter, sorry about that, the next chapters will be longer!

When Krogan’s eyes fluttered open again, he was laying against Juniper’s warm hide in a nest of what felt like moss.

Krogan’s stomach complains loudly, and Krogan gulps down the little bit of saliva in his mouth to wet his throat.

“Juniper?” He rasps. Evidently, she doesn’t hear him, as she stays asleep.

Krogan places a hand against her scales, and shakily gets to his feet.

He knows hunting himself would be dangerous, if not impossible, but he needed food.

He all but trips over her tail, and stumbles to the floor.

Krogan pulls himself back to his feet and stumbles around in the grass helplessly, until he face plants directly into a tree, as he didn’t have his arms outstretched like he should have.

He hisses in pain, and rubs at his forehead.

Krogan’s stomach complains again, and he places a hand against the tree to steady himself.

That’s when the noise of movement behind him made his ears prick with alertness, and he turned around, shakily settling into a fighting stance, ready to fight if the need arose, only to suddenly have his left arm gently gripped onto by a pair of strong jaws.

Krogan yelps, flinging his legs helplessly as he’s lifted into the air.

Juniper grunts loudly at him, and plops him back down in the nest of moss.

“Juniper, I have to go get food! I’m hungry!” 

The Singetail snorts, and shoves him to the ground.

  
  


Krogan went to get up again, only for Juniper to place a foot over his legs with a growl.

Krogan’s forced onto his back, and he feels Juniper’s warm breath buffeting his chest, right before Juniper gags, and something slimy and rancid-smelling plops into his lap.

Krogan’s eyes widened slightly. 

Juniper was treating him like a hatchling. He’d seen other Singetails tending to their young the same way she was doing to him.

Krogan slowly wrapped his fingers around the slimy object, finding it to be a chunk of some sort of fish, judging by the scales.

He took a whiff of it, and cringed- it reeked terribly.

Juniper stepped off of him and curled herself back around him, grumbling.

Krogan grimaced, and quickly took a bite, and quickly swallowed, a shiver rushing down his spine. It wasn’t half bad, but it was still very slimy and gross.

Krogan swallows down a few more mouthfuls of the putrid fish, and finally settles back against Juniper, who heaves a sigh of her own, as she lifts her head, and begins to lick at his head and shoulders.

“Juniper, stop! You don’t need to-”

Juniper shifts again, and places a paw on his chest, and simply continues to lick him.

Krogan lays his head back into the moss with a heaved sigh, simply letting her groom him, before she curls back around him with a loving croon.

Krogan lays there for a while, staring into the black void that was his vision, with his head propped against Juniper's side, listening to her powerful heart beating through her scaly hide.

Krogan moved, rolling over so that he laid on his side, and curled in on himself, before closing his eyes.

_____________________

Krogan could feel warmth licking the skin of his face, and he slowly opened his eyes.

‘ _ Must be morning _ ,’ he thought idly. 

Juniper was still coiled around him.

Krogan had to get up. He needed to move, so he ran his hands along Juniper’s tail and heaved himself to his feet.

This time, it didn’t take him long to find the small pond in whatever place they were in as he fumbled into it’s chilly water.

It wasn’t very deep, but it most definitely alerted Juniper to the fact that he was awake, as he heard her striding over to him, before she grabbed him by the seat of his soaked trousers, and hauled him from the pond. 

Grumbling, she began licking him again, but this time, Krogan wasn’t having any of it. He crawled out from underneath her claws, stood, and wiped the slobber from his chest.

Licking his lips, he then made his way back towards where he thought the pond was, smiling happily when he felt his toes dig into the soft silt at the edge of the water. He kneels down onto his haunches, and cups his hands.

Krogan dips them into the water, and quickly takes a sip of the cool liquid, relishing the feeling of it trickling down his throat with a soft groan. 

Krogan stands up, and turns around, only to freeze at the sound of voices. 


	4. Chapter Three

Krogan fumbled his way through the grass, trying to find Juniper in the darkness. His hands found purchase on hard, warm scales, and he quickly crawled underneath one of Juniper’s wings., as hiding would probably be the best option for now.

Juniper crowed at him, and he nestled further into the grass next to her, eyes wide.

The voices grew louder, and Krogan’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t able to make out just what they were saying, but he definitely recognized them.

Soon, loud, tromping footsteps followed, and he was barely able to make out what they were saying.

“Hiccup, you must have been seeing something.” the first one stated. Krogan stiffens. The Dragon Riders were here? Why?

“What I saw was most  _ definitely _ a Singetail, Fishlegs.” 

Well, there it was, Hiccup Haddock himself.

Krogan tried to shove himself further against Juniper’s side, and she shifted her wing around him, so that it gently curled underneath his body. The Singetail growled lowly, and the footsteps paused.

Krogan desperately wanted to poke his head out from underneath her wing to see what was going on, but he knew it would be fruitless, as he couldn’t see anything either way. So, he stayed, listening to the parting of the bushes, and another low growl of warning from his dragon.

“Well, hey there, big guy,” Hiccup’s voice was soft, and trying to be calming, although the sound of his boots in the grass was irritating, to say the least.

Krogan’s cheeks heated indignantly, and he grumbled angrily.

Juniper was quite obviously a female.

Juniper gave another long, low growl, and her powerful muscles shifted underneath her scales.

“Hiccup be careful!”

Then there was the snapping of teeth on the air, and Krogan flinched slightly. When he’d first found her, she’d snapped at him all the same, even if he was just trying to cut her free. She hadn’t understood that he was trying to help her.

But Hiccup wasn’t trying to help her, he reasoned. He’d come into what she’d claimed as her territory, and was trying to, in her eyes, hurt her hatchling.

And mother Singetails were extremely overprotective of their young.

“It’s alright,” Hiccup tried again, and Krogan shivered- the boy was so close, he could smell him.

Juniper snaps at him again, and Hiccup yelps.

She’d probably startled him, but that small noise was all it took for her to snap, as there was a sharp, shrill cry from her, as she stood up, and pushed him underneath herself.

Then a bang, as one of her blasts landed not too far away from where he assumed Hiccup was.

The cry of a Night Fury echoed from the bushes, and Juniper gave a returning, angry wail.

Krogan hisses angrily, knowing that he needed to try and calm the situation down. Nobody needed to die today.

He quickly patted Juniper’s stomach, waiting for her to respond, but she just gives a low, reverberating growl.

Sighing, he flips himself back onto his stomach, and begins to squeeze his way out from underneath his dragon.

“Juniper, please calm down!.”

He pops his head out from underneath her, and she looks down at him with a small croon.

“Juniper, please.”

She steps off of him, and he sighs softly.

“What the…”

And now he was completely exposed.

Krogan stood, pressing his fingers into Juniper’s belly scutes for reassurance, as the sound of Hiccup’s Night Fury growling reached his ears.

Hiccup should have been right in front of him, so he clears his throat.

“Haddock,” he greets, trying his best to sound composed, and somewhat collected.

“What are  _ you _ doing here, Krogan?” Hiccup snaps, and Krogan raises his eyebrows.

‘ _ Should I tell them? Can they already tell _ ?’ Krogan wonders, ‘ _ Know what, screw it. Not like I have anything else to lose _ ,’

Clearing his throat, he glances around a little bit.

“Uh, it’s not really like I know where  _ here _ is, exactly,” He starts, “Since… I can’t….  _ see _ , really.” 

Krogan hears Hiccup shift closer to him, he can feel the boy’s small presence close to his chest, before,

“You’re…  _ blind _ ?” Hiccup said disbelievingly, and that’s when Ingerman decides to pipe up.

“How?”

Krogan is slightly taken aback, as his first interaction with someone, they’d never asked him how.

“... I don’t know,” Krogan states nervously. “Why would you  _ care _ , anyways? I’m supposed to be your enemy, aren’t I?” He snaps, and immediately grimaces, knowing he came off too harsh.

“You were betrayed, weren’t you?” The question comes from Hiccup, and Krogan blinks. Flashes of Viggo's dark, angry smile rip through his head, and he decides to stay quiet, and simply nods instead.

“Why don’t you come back-”

“Hiccup, that’s a ver-”

“Fishlegs, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go!”

“I wouldn’t mind not having to sleep in moss for a change...” He murmurs.

He definitely wouldn’t mind that. His body ached from having to be on the hard ground for the past… he didn’t know how long, and he definitely needed some proper rest.

Krogan heard the two pause.

“It’s settled then. Hopefully Astrid doesn’t kill me.”

_________________________

“Sit down.”

Gentle hands grasped at Krogan’s shoulders, and slowly guided him into a chair.

“What are you doing?” Krogan questioned.

“I’m just taking a look at your eyes, so I need you to hold still.” Ingerman stated.

  
  
  


Thick fingers gently took a hold of his chin, tilted his head from side to side, then let go. 

“Can you see anything at all?”

Krogan slowly shook his head.

Wood scraped against wood, and then the wood creaked. 

The gentle hands returned.

“Can you lean forward for me a little?”

Krogan did as told, and the hands tilted his head down. 

“They are really red, but they don’t look infected.” Ingerman shifts in his chair, “Do remember how this happened, Krogan?” 

Krogan glances down, racking his head for anything besides Viggo’s cruel, angry smile, but comes up blank, except for a sharp, lingering burn in his eyes that seemed to dig its way back into his skull.

“No.”

“You don’t remember anything?”

Krogan grimaces.

“I don’t know, does burning eye pain do anything to help?”

Ingerman makes a strangled noise that echoes from the back of his throat thickly.

“Changewing acid, is my guess.”

He gets up, and Krogan starts to hear him moving away.

“Stay right there, alright? I’m getting some bandages for your eyes.” 

Krogan leans back in the chair, and closes his eyes, listening to the droning waves of the ocean far below them. 

Footsteps a few minutes later make him slowly open his eyes again, as Ingerman sits back down in his seat. 

“Lean forward a little, please.”

Krogan does so, and then hands are gently wrapping slightly scratchy fabric around his head, right over his eyes.

After a few minutes, the hands go away, and Krogan reaches up to pat at the fabric covering his eyes, only for Ingerman to gently grip his hand in his own.

“Don’t mess with the bandages. We need to keep your eyes as clean as possible.”

Krogan nods along slowly, and clears his throat.

“Do… do you know where I’ll be staying?”

“Hiccup’s set up a bunk for you in his hut, why?”

Krogan swallowed.

“I was just wondering.”

Ingerman went to get up, and Krogan went to do so as well.

“Wait, what about my dragon?”

“She’ll be fine, Astrid got a stall ready for her in the stables.”

“Thank you.”

Ingerman pauses.

“You’re welcome,”

Krogan shakes his head, slowly standing up.

“Would you mind taking me to Hiccup? I,” Krogan swallows thickly. “I need to talk to him about something.” 


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's kind of short, but, I hope you like it anyways!

“So, you know where the old hunter base is?” Hiccup asked, and Krogan could tell that the boy’s interest had peaked.

“I don’t think I will be of much use, though. I can’t see to navigate.” Krogan stated, as he looked back up towards where he assumed Hiccup was.

“I’m sure your dragon knows the route well enough, right?”

Krogan nods- Juniper knew the route all too well.

“Then it’s settled. You will lead us to the base, and you can collect your things, and maybe try and find some important documents that the hunters left behind, alright?” Hiccup gently places a hand on his shoulder.

‘ _ The bounty _ .’ 

Hiccup gently strings his arm through one of his own, and Krogan clears his throat.

“Viggo… put a bounty on my head.”

Hiccup freezes next to him, and he feels Hiccup’s warmth leave him for a split second.

“You have a bounty on your head?”

Krogan nods.

“How much?” the question is edged with anger, and Krogan raises an eyebrow- he’d known that Hiccup was a little bit of a spitfire, but to be this angry over a bounty on someone he’d barely known until a few hours ago seemed a little odd.

“... 20,000 gold, apparently.” Krogan forced out.

Hiccup sighs.

“You know what? At least you didn’t make my mistake and not tell anyone,” Hiccup starts, “but, he seriously wants twenty _thousand_ gold for you?” 

Krogan nods again.

“We’ll keep an eye on your back, okay? Just stay close to either me, Astrid, or Fishlegs. I’ll fill them in.”

Hiccup’s arm returns, and he begins to guide Krogan forwards.

“First, let’s just get your stuff back, okay?”

_________________________________________

Krogan stood anxiously in the doorway to his room, as Hiccup moved around the room, grabbing things and stuffing them into the saddlebags he’d told him he’d brought with him.

“Hey, I found your axe!”

Krogan perked up slightly- it was something familiar to him, that would balance out all of the chaos that his life had turned into.

“Gods this is heavy,” Hiccup panted. Krogan tilts his head.

“It isn’t that heavy to me.” he intones, and Hiccup gives a soft chuckle.

“Here,” Hiccup brushes his fingers against Krogan’s own, and Krogan wraps a hand around the familiar, spiraled handle towards the base of the weapon.

“Nice craftsmanship, though,” Hiccup pats his shoulder. “You make it?”

“It was the first thing I made where I knew what I was doing.” he gives hiccup what he hopes is a happy grin, and Hiccup snorts.

“Alright, I did pick you out some other clothing to wear besides your torn up trousers, with a cloak, and some nice boots. Is that okay?” Hiccup shifts near him, and Krogan blinks.

“Can you not find my other clothes?” he asks, only to hear a sharp, pained sounding inhale from the boy.

“I’m not too sure you would want to wear what’s left of your other clothes.” Hiccup calls from the other end of the room.

Krogan tightens his grip on the handle of his axe.

“Why?”

Hiccup doesn’t say anything, but Krogan hears him sigh.

“There’s not much left of them, and they reek of blood.”

“Oh.”

Guess he’d have to go with whatever it was Hiccup had picked out.

_________________________________________

_ “Do you know what I do to thieves,  _ boy? _ ” Drago’s words bit Krogan’s small, cowering form as if it were a knife carving his flesh. _

_ “I… I only wanted food, sire!” he whimpered. “I just-” _

_ “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!” _

_ One of Drago’s huge hands slammed into the side of his head, and Krogan fell backwards, onto his back, knees bent, and arms underneath himself. _

_ “Sire, please!” _

_ Drago gripped onto Krogan’s small head, pulling out a knife. _

_ “I’ll teach you to disobey me,  _ rat _.” _


	6. Chapter Five

Krogan’s eyes snapped open, and he swallowed thickly, the thundering of his heart drowning out the rest of the supposedly suppressed memory, even though his scarred, left eye throbbed with the phantom pain of the blade digging itself into his flesh.

Krogan sat up in the makeshift bed in the far corner of Hiccup’s hut, and went to slide out from underneath the furs, only to remember that there wasn’t really anything he could do, even if he was wide awake, as most things needed sight to accomplish.

Krogan reaches for his axe, which he’d propped up against the wall, and dug around in the small pouch that Hiccup had found in the bottom of his chest, until his fingers found the small, ornate container that held the oil he used to polish his weapons.

He placed the item on the floor next to his bed, and swung his legs out from underneath the covers, before pulling out a small brush from the pouch, and slathered the bristles in oil.

Krogan tilted his axe up into the air, and started to scrub at the small, decorative balances on its shaft, closing his eyes in concentration. He knew the movements, he just needed to follow his memories.

Eventually, Krogan found himself drifting off, and his fingers loosened from the brush, which dropped to the floor with a silent thunk, as he fell back against the blankets.

  
  


_ Krogan followed Viggo with dulled eyes, as he moved around his bare, exposed frame, strung up at the wrists. _

_ “Viggo, please, haven’t you done enough today?” _

_ Something was wrong- everything sounded like it was underwater, and the blood that oozed down his back did little to ease his tension. _

_ “Oh, Krogan, I do love when you beg me to do things,” Viggo purred into his ear, and Krogan could hear the smirk on Viggo’s lips as he continued,”It makes me wonder what that beautiful voice would sound like screaming  _ my _ name when I release into that tight little ass of yours,” _

_ A tremble rushes up Krogan’s spine. _

_ “No, Viggo please don’t!” _

_ Viggo’s fingers trailed across his left bicep, and then over to his spine, tracing along the edges of one of the cuts in his back. _

_ Krogan’s breath hitches, as pain tingles through the skin surrounding the wound. _

_ “These are going to make such pretty scars, you know that?” Viggo whispers into his ear. _

_ Krogan trembles, as Viggo’s fingers trail further down, into the small of his back. _

_ “Please,” _

_ The fingers trail lower, sliding down his hip. _

_ “No,” _

_ Krogan’s breath hitches, as the sound of rustling fabric reaches his ears. _

_ “It’s alright, my dear,” Viggo breathes the statement into his ear, even as tears begin to pool in the corners of his eyes. _

_ Viggo’s hands curl around his hips. _

_ “No, stop, I don’t want to!” _

_ “Relax, Krogan.” _

_ “No!” _

_ Viggo nibbles on his ear, and his hands tighten around his hips, to the point where it feels like there’s already bruises beginning to form underneath them. _

_ Tears drool down his cheeks. _

_ “No! No! St-” _

Krogan’s eyes fly open, and he gives a terrified shriek, trying to struggle out of the grasp of the hands gripping his shoulders.

They let go, and Krogan bangs his head against a wall. Hard.

He yelps, and falls back into the soft bedding, shivering uncontrollably.

“Krogan, oh my Thor, are you okay?” Hiccup’s worried voice reaches his ears, and a single, much smaller hand slides into his own, while another one cradles the back of his head closer.

Krogan blinks, and everything comes rushing back to him.

“Hiccup?” He rasps, and a tingle rushes down his spine. He hasn’t had a nightmare that bad in a long time.

“I’m right here.” Hiccup reassures, one of his hands rubbing gentle circles into his own.

“I… I’m sorry if I woke you up,” his throat tightened, and Krogan’s ears tingled with heat. “I didn’t mean to,”

Hiccup’s gentle hands slowly slid away from him, and then, slim, yet strong arms pulled him closer.

“Hey, you were having a nightmare, it’s not your fault.” Hiccup gently runs a hand through Krogan’s hair.

Krogan leans into the touch, giving a soft noise of pleasure.

“Hey, if you want to spend the rest of the night with your dragon, I can bring you to the stables?”

Krogan looks up towards Hiccup.

“I wouldn’t mind that.”


	7. Chapter Six

Krogan pulls his head through the top of his new tunic. The soft material feels thicker than the cloth and scales that his other tunic was made of, with an assymetrical hem, and slightly longer sleeves, that reached the top half of his upper arm.

“I found some bracers for you, too.” Hiccup calls, and Krogan glances over to where the boy is, listening to his approaching footsteps, as he adjusts his belt around his waist. 

“Hold out your hands.” Hiccup instructs.

Krogan follows along, and soft, strong leather crawls up his arms.

“They have finger holes, for some reason, but they aren’t gloves.” Hiccup mused quietly.

“I like having my fingers free.” Krogan explains curtly.

“Do you want help with your cloak?”

Krogan shakes his head, picks up the cloak from the bed, and fastens it around his shoulders, where it hangs, halm strung over one arm.

“Alright, ready to go? Astrid should have something ready for breakfast by now.”

Krogan nods along, and Hiccup wraps a hand around his elbow, and guides him through the doorway to his hut.

Krogan’s able to smell the food before anything else, and he slightly recognizes the soft scent of nettle.

Then he hears the noise, and a tremble rushes down his spine- he was fine with noise and people when it came to open places, but when it came to close-quarters  _ and _ food, that was a different story. 

“Haddock… I don’t really-” 

Hiccup patted his shoulder in a way he assumed to be reassuring, and kept trying to guide him into the room.

“It’s not that bad, Krogan,” Hiccup stated softly. “Fishlegs wants to check your eyes again, anyways.”

Krogan shook his head.

“I don’t like large crowds.”

Hiccup pauses in guiding him towards the clubhouse, and Krogan can feel his eyes gazing at him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize that, big guy,” Hiccup starts, right before there’s a loud bang that echoed from the room.

“What’cha two talkin’ ‘bout, H?” Krogan blinks, confused- he’d heard the voice before, but he couldn’t really place who it was from.

Hiccup groans.

“Ruff, Tuff, can’t you two, for  _ once _ in your collective lives, mind your  _ own  _ business?” This voice is sort of familiar, but it definitely is  _ not _ Fishlegs.

“Thank you, Snotlout, for that.”

Krogan simply stands there, confused, until a small, thin-fingered hand pats his shoulder.

“Why don’t you come inside while they’re busy,” 

Krogan nods quickly, as an arm hesitantly wraps itself around his waist, and pulls him forward, towards what he assumes is the clubhouse.

“I’m Astrid, by the way.” the young woman gently pushes him down into a chair, and another hand grips his shoulder.

“I’m going to take off the bandages for now, alright? Your skin needs to breathe a little.”

The bandages gently fall away, and one of Fishlegs's hands gently tilt his head to the side, while Krogan relishes the fresh air coiling around his cheeks.

“They aren’t as red today. Huh.”

Fishlegs moves again, and Krogan tracks the boy’s movements from his footsteps.

“Here.” a soft thud of wood thudding against wood ripples from the air in front of him, and he glances over. “You should be pretty hungry, right?”

Krogan took in the soft, sweet smell of nettles again, and smiled softly- nettle soup was always pretty nice. It was a good stress reliever, and calmed him down somewhat.

“Thank you, miss.”

“You don’t need to thank us, Krogan.” Astrid ran a hand through his hair, and her footsteps moved over, and then a chair was pulled out, and he heard her settle into a chair next to him.

He fumbled for a little bit with the spoon, trying to get it so it was held right, before quickly sipping down a spoonful of soup. It did taste good, and seemed to immediately quiet his thrumming nerves.

For once, he actually felt… appreciated, and he liked that feeling.

It had to be around sunset by the time Krogan had been properly introduced to the rest of the “gang”, as Hiccup called their group, and he found himself having a dilemma, while he sat on the edge of the bedding in Hiccup’s hut. All of the riders were so, so very kind to him, even the scatterbrains that were the twins.

Ruffnut, the girl, seemed very curious about him, and had been adamant in telling him that if he ever needed someone to simply sit and be near, her and her brother were perfectly happy in doing so. In fact, he even met their little, feathered friend- a chicken, of all things.

He liked the spunky little bird. She was friendly enough towards him, and he found it endearing that the little bird liked him back.

Snotlout, on the other hand, was a little  _ too _ interested in him, and Krogan had next to no clue what the hel came out of that boy’s mouth at him half the time.

Fishlegs was a wonderful companion, and Krogan took joy in being able to share his knowledge of Singetails with him, which Fishlegs told him would be going straight into the Book of Dragons afterwards. 

Hiccup and Astrid, were so wonderful and supportive, with Astrid trying her best to make sure the Twins weren’t getting on his nerves too much- which, honestly wasn’t that common, as Krogan was usually very patient with people.

That being said, Viggo was the only person that really irked him, as the man insisted on constantly degrading and picking at his intelligence- which he knew wasn’t very good, considering he was unable to read very fluently, but Viggo took pride in picking him apart. 

He also saw Hiccup as a potential lover.

Krogan shivered at that thought- that poor boy probably had no clue what disgusting things Viggo wanted to do to him- as, mostly they were the same things Viggo did to him- toy with the boy like the everecent  _ predator _ he thought he was.

‘ _ Jokes on you, Viggo, _ ’ he thought wryly. ‘  _ at least I could fend for myself without dying from starvation. _ ’


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Bonding Time! There's going to be one of these Chapters for each of the riders, so look forward to that!

Krogan followed his body’s memories flawlessly, swinging and ducking around the small area of the training dome.

He inhaled sharply, and slammed the blunted side of his axe into the sides of one of the training dummies, then, aimed with an upwards slash.

A loud crack echoes through the air, and Krogan freezes midstep, causing himself to go tumbling down to the floor, and his axe to fly out of his hands.

The third try had left him with another mess to clean up.

Astrid’s footsteps approached him from behind, and as he stood, she gently patted him on his back.

“You were doing so good!” she praises, and gently squeezes his hand.

“I broke it, though.”

“These training dummies are constantly getting broken, Krogan. That’s their purpose!” she laughs, and Krogan glances in her direction.

“Why don’t we try a little one on one spar, alright?” she asks.

Krogan shakes his head.

“No, I could hurt you, Astrid,” he states. “That’s exactly why I use the dummies instead of people to help.”

“Why’s that?” she gently hands him his axe, and he sighs.

“I know what I’m capable of, Astrid,” he shakes his head. “I’ve lost all control of my strength since I lost my sight.”

“Because you can’t judge things properly, correct?” Krogan hears the smile in her voice, and he blinks, before nodding.

“Well, I have the perfect exercise we can try for that,” She states, before gently grabbing onto both of his hands. “Now, close your eyes, and just listen.”

Krogan tilts his head, but does as told.

“What do you hear?”

The soft melodies of the screeching Night Terrors in their roosts in the stables reach his ears, and Stormfly’s soft, squawking snores from behind him punctuate his ears.

“The Night Terrors are supposed to be nocturnal, aren’t they?” he asks quietly.

“Those would be the lookouts, Krogan,” Astrid chuckles. “They always have at least one or two Terrors on lookout for danger.”

He nods.

“Now, you’ve already told me that you can Identify each one of us by our footsteps, correct?” 

Krogan opens his eyes, as his eyebrows cinch together. 

“Yes,” he pauses “But that’s just because I’ve spent time with all of you.”

“And, that you can hear where others are, just by listening to their footsteps.” Astrid took a step back, unlacing her fingers from his.

“We’re going to try something a little different now, alright?” Astrid calls. “Follow the sound of my footsteps, and then find me.”

“But,”

“No talking, just listen.”

Astrid’s footsteps trailed behind him, and a little further away, before stopping.

Krogan turned, running the sound over in his head, and tentatively took a step towards where he thought Astrid had gone, only to pause.

‘ _ That’s not right _ ,’ he thought, and quickly moved back to where he was originally.

“Astrid’s footsteps moved again, and he decided to follow the noises they made this time, and paused when they paused.

Then, they stopped, and Krogan heard the scraping of a boot slightly to his left, and turned around, and took the first step towards where the sound came from.

Hands wrapped around his shoulders.

“Good,” Astrid praised, patting his left shoulder. “Now let’s do it again, okay?”

Krogan nodded.

It was easier this time, as he waited for a few seconds when he heard her start walking, and then followed.

This time, Astrid’s hands laced into his own, and he felt her lean into him.

“Just follow my movements now, alright?” she asked.

Krogan felt her shift, heard her boots scrape the ground, and she slowly raised their hands together, and pulled away from him.

Krogan followed her steps closely, as she pulled him closer, and then removed one of her hands, raising their intertwined ones into the air.

“Twirl me,” it was an instruction, and Krogan followed it, as she released her grip slightly. He felt her hand brush his own, before once again intertwining both of her hands with his again.

Astrid shifted her feet to the left, and Krogan followed, as she removed her hand from his, and placed his on her waist.

She swirled him around again, and then pressed herself flush to his chest.

She then leaned back against his arm.

“Tilt me back,” 

Krogan’s eyebrows raised, and he let her lean back, and felt her stretch her leg against his thigh, before he pulled her back up, and she pulled herself back into a twirl.

Their movements became faster after that, Krogan moving in unison with Astrid, taking steps, twirling, stretching, and dropping like it was completely natural. Like they shared a body, but at the same time they didn’t.

He helped her pull herself over his shoulders, and they spun again.

Krogan closed his eyes, and tightened his grip on her hip ever so slightly, and she leaned back into him again, and finally, the final drop came, and when she leaned back up, and Krogan reopened his eyes, a hand was strung through his hair.

“You did wonderful, Krogan.” she praised.

Krogan felt her move from his grasp, as a short whistle echoed from the front of the open dome, with clapping.

“Absolutely stunning, my large friend!” Ruffnut crowed, and Astrid patted Krogan’s shoulder.

“I… enjoyed that, Astrid.”

“Anytime you want to do it again, just ask.” Astrid murmurs.

A tingle of pleasure rushed up Krogan’s spine, as a smile pulled at his lips.

“I think I will.”


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! We are getting backstory today! :)

Krogan took in the scent of the fresh, spring air blowing past him, that flowed through his hair, while he plastered himself flat against Juniper’s back, shifting with her powerful, snakelike movements as she twisted and swerved through the air.

An uncontrollable smile broke across his face, as this may have been the most fun he’s had in a long time- not to mention the harness that Hiccup had made for them was working wonders.

It made it so he was easily able to move around on Juniper’s broad back, and even stand up, without the risk of falling.

Now they could go any speed they really wanted, and were even able to keep up with Hiccup and Toothless for short bursts.

Krogan’s old harness had been just that- old and falling apart, as it was modified by him from where it was supposed to be for a horse.

He gripped Juniper’s horns a little tighter, as they rounded the final turn, and she landed.

“Good girl,” he crooned, a huge smile pulling at his lips, as he detached the metal clip holding them together, and then hooked it to one of the large, metal rings that hung over his left shoulder.

“You two have a very strong bond, Krogan,” Fishlegs commented, his heavy footsteps the only indication of his approach. “And you never did tell me the story of how you bonded.”

Krogan’s smile faded somewhat, as he did cherish the memory, but it was one of his many failures on his record of blunders- at least according to Drago.

“If you aren’t comfortable talking about it, then we don’t have to, Krogan,” Fishlegs patted his shoulder. “It’s just that Singetails are notorious for being some of the most territorial dragons in the Archipelago, and they don't usually like humans all that much.”

Krogan sighed softly.

“Well, I was kind of shamed for bonding with her, Fishlegs. It was a disgrace in the eyes of my…” he paused. What would he consider Drago? He was most definitely  _ not _ his father- he knew that for certain, as he had faint memories of both his mother and father, like the ones of how his mother would always sing to him before bed- a certain song he did not know the name of, but knew every strange, foreign lyric by heart, and that his father had huge, rough, and hard-worked hands, that were oh so very gentle. Drago was the one to raise him, though he was not his father. He was more like a slaver. A master.

“By my superior.” he finishes, swallowing.

“Why’s that?”

_______________________

_ The forest was always a wonderful getaway from his problems, even if it wasn’t very often that he’d get to spend time there. _

_ Krogan stalked his lanky frame through the underbrush. He was hunting for his own food, trailing the tracks of an elk, even though he knew he wouldn’t probably be able to catch the thing, it had been such a long time since he had had fresh meat. _

_ Birds suddenly scattered out of the trees, as a thunderous roar echoed through the forest. _

_ It sounded like an injured dragon. _

_ ‘Alright, change of plans’  _

_ If he could kill a dragon, then maybe Drago would try taking him more seriously.  _

_ Krogan followed the pained noises, until he came to a clearing, where an absolutely massive, red beast lay, it’s eyes shuttered closed, breathing light and panting. _

_ Krogan tilts his head- it’s a Singetail, a dragon he’d heard of, but never actually met before. _

_ One who’s scales were probably too tough for his tiny knife to puncture. _

_ He stepped out of the bushes, and the Singetail gave a cry of alarm, jerking its huge head towards him. _

_ Krogan’s eyes locked with the dragon’s own, and something shifted- the dragon was  _ scared _ of  _ him _. _

_ Krogan’s eyes trail across the dragon’s body, noticing the thick, braided ropes wrapped around its body, and the bleeding wounds from the ropes chafing against its scales. _

_ He locks eyes with the dragon again, and gulps down the fear clinging to him. _

_ ‘Kill the beast, and get the recognition you deserve, Krogan!’ a voice cries, but he hesitates in pulling out his knife, and instead, takes a step back., away from the dragon.  _

_ Those eyes- he knew the emotions in them all too well.  _

_ The dragon tilts its head at him slightly, and Krogan does the same- he was always told that dragons were such heinous creatures- that they deserved enslavement, or death if they didn’t listen.  _

_ That they’d take any chance they got to kill you. _

_ And yet, this one, tied up and helpless,  _ scared _ , was simply staring at him now curiously.  _

_ He took another step back, and pulled out his knife, slowly, mind made up- if it killed him once it was free, then so be it. _

_ The last of the ropes finally fell from the beasts talons, and Krogan backed away, as the dragon slowly stood, rumbling softly. _

_ It turned to look at him, and purred softly. _

_ Krogan raised his head, and started to back away from the dragon. _

_ It sniffed the air, and made a deep, rumbling moan. It sounded  _ sad _. _

_ The dragon is in front of him before he can react, and is sniffing him, making that same noise over and over again, seemingly frantic. _

_ Finally, the dragon rumbles out a soft purr, and rubs its head against Krogan, and gently picks him up by the back of his shirt. _

_ Krogan is dropped into a soft, rounded out hole in the ground, filled with moss. _

_ Broken eggshells litter the bottom of the nest, and the stench of rotting eggs permeates the air. _

_ It dawns on him, as the dragon coils around the nest, that  _ she _ was a mother, who had gotten stuck in a trap, most likely trying to find the ones who smashed her eggs. Her  _ babies _. _

_ Krogan gently grabs onto one of the shards of eggshell, taking in the small specks of blood staining the slimy insides of the shell, and only one thought came to the front of his head- _

_ What if Drago was  _ wrong _ about dragons? _


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry about the short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

“Thanks for telling, Krogan.” Fishlegs pats him on the shoulder again.

“Your welcome, Fishlegs,” Krogan stated, while he began to unhitch himself from his harness.

“Meatlug really likes Juniper.” Fishlegs comments, and Krogan smiles- he can hear the two dragons feet pounding against the landing pad’s planks.

“Singetails are pack-based creatures, Fishlegs, and since you rescued me, she believes that all of your dragons, and yourselves, are her pack.” Krogan remarks.

Fishlegs makes a noise of excitement.

“So, she considers you as part of her pack as well, correct?”

Krogan nods.

“She was thrown out of her original pack for taking me in, as Singetails aren’t usually very accepting of other creatures being in their midst.”

“Why’s that?” Fishlegs asks, as he helps him sit down on the edge of the landing pad “I know they are territorial, but why keep other dragons out of their territory?”

Krogan frowns. “Because the more dragons they let live in their territory, the more likely they are to be found by Skrills.” 

Krogan can feel Fishlegs’s eyes on him.

“Skrills, as in  _ multiple _ , lightning-breathing, temperamental, and typically solitary dragons?”

Krogan nods.

“Singetails are a Skrill’s favorite food, so if a single Skrill finds out about a Singetail pack, they will suddenly become pack predators, just to hunt and kill, sometimes even take over a pack’s  _ entire _ territory.” 

Fishlegs gives a disgusted snort.

“Skrills are cool and all, but that’s very weird behaviour for them.”

“It is, yes, but things in nature usually don’t make sense, Fishlegs.”

Fishlegs made a noise of confirmation.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you something,”

“Yes?”

“Is Juniper a titan-wing? She is a lot larger than all of the other Singetails we’ve seen.” The question makes Krogan perk up slightly.

“Maybe? If she is, she has been ever since I’ve known her. My guess is that she was probably the oldest female that was still breeding, just because it seems that Titan Wings are usually the non-breeding elders of the packs.”

Juniper gives a sharp, playful cry, and there’s a loud thunk.

Krogan Flinches.

“Juniper! Be careful!” He warns, shaking his head.

“But, for all I know, she could just have a mutation where she is a lot bigger than the rest of her kind.”

“I’ve never heard of something like that…” Fishlegs trails off.

“It’s all just speculation though, I have no clue if she is or not.” Krogan states.

“We should probably go get lunch now, Krogan.”

Fishlegs helps him to his feet, and Krogan lets him guide him to the clubhouse, where the smell of smoked yak chops is emanating from.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be severe gore in this chapter, so be warned, and enjoy.

_ “Why would someone ever care about someone like you, Krogan?” Viggo hisses into his ear, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. _

_ “Viggo’s footsteps moved to his front. _

_ “They never cared about you, Krogan, and they never will!” Viggo yells, and laughs. “But dear, I do  _ love _ you.” _

_ Krogan follows Viggo’s footsteps with his head, and then Viggo’s hand curls roughly around his chin, tilting his head downwards. _

_ “Why did you blind me, then?” Krogan asks, flinching at Viggo’s harsh, grating laugh. _

_ “To keep you closer, my dear.” _

_ “They are my friends, Viggo,” Krogan snarls, ripping his head from Viggo’s grasp. “And you just like me because I am easy to manipulate.” Krogan continues, only to get smacked. _

_ “Talk to me like that again, and I will remove your tongue, petulant child.” Viggo snarls back. _

_ A dull rage begins to throb behind Krogan’s temples. _

_ “I am  _ not _ your slave,  _ Grimborn. _ ” the statement comes out of his mouth sounding all too much like the angry snarl of a dragon. _

_ He hears Viggo snarl loudly. _

_ “So you think that just because the riders took you in, that they care about you?” _

_ Viggo circles him, and Krogan’s rage slowly grows. _

_ “That they  _ trust  _ you?” Viggo laughs again. “You are such a pitiful,  _ hopeless _ being,  _ aren’t _ you?” _

_ Krogan gives a deep growl that makes his chest vibrate with the sound. _

_ “You always say you are so inte _ lligent _ , Viggo,” Krogan hisses, and turns towards the man. “I see no such intelligence in picking on someone who could easily rip your arms from that puny little body of yours.”  _

_ Viggo chuckles. _

_ “You  _ wouldn’t _.” _

_ A sinister smile begins to creep at the corners of Krogan’s lips. _

_ “You really do not know me as you think you do, Grimborn,” he purrs, picking out Viggo’s soft gasp, and honing in on the man. _

_ He wraps a single hand around Viggo’s neck, lifts him into the air, and squeezes his neck tightly. _

_ Viggo gives a strangled, albeit maniacal cackle. _

_ “Come on,  _ beastie _ , rip my head off.  _ Do it _. You know you want to!” _

_ Krogan tilts his head, his smile widening. _

_ “You deserve a far more painful death, Viggo,“ he purrs “For all that you’ve done, and for all that you’ve said, I’m going to make you  _ suffer _.”  _

_ Viggo’s tone suddenly changes, as he begins helplessly clawing at Krogan’s hand with his nails. _

_ “ _ Just _ like you did to  _ me _.” _

_ “No,  _ please _!” Viggo pleads. _

_ Krogan gives a shaking giggle, and slowly walks Viggo over to the wall, and presses his hand against his throat, while his other starts to pull off Viggo’s tunic top. _

_ “You know you can earn extra leeway by taking back the things you said about Hiccup, Viggo.” Krogan purrs softly, and looks up to where he knows Viggo’s face is. _

_ “I will  _ not _ , Krogan! Hiccup and I were like lovers! Our fights were shows of courtship!” _

_ Krogan lifts his upper lip in disgust, as his hand finally wraps around the hilt of a small dagger. _

_ “You are a  _ despicable _ man, Viggo. Hiccup is barely even of age, let alone the age to be with someone twenty years his senior,” Krogan hisses, and gives Viggo a sharp jab to his windpipe. “And. besides,, why would he  _ ever _ want  _ you _ when he has the beautiful Miss Hofferson by his side, instead?” Krogan purrs into Viggo’s ear. _

_ “Now, let’s get to business, shall we?” _

_ Viggo wriggles in his grasp, as Krogan slides the edge of his knife up underneath the edge of Viggo’s belt, and quickly cuts it off, allowing the rest of Viggo’s clothing to fall to the floor. _

_ “No! Please!” _

_ “Your voice is so beautiful when you beg, Viggo,” Krogan mocks, giving a deep, throaty chortle of a laugh when Viggo screams out his terror. _

_ Krogan tilts his head, and rubs the knife up the inside of Viggo’s thigh, making sure that there was enough pressure for Viggo to feel the point of the blade, but not to draw blood, as there was plenty of time for Krogan to do that later. _

_ “Krogan,  _ please _ don’t! You have  _ morals! _ You  _ have _ to if the Riders accepted you as fast as they did!” _

_ Krogan pauses with the knife, a smug smile pulling at his lips. _

_ “I may be one of them, Viggo, but I do  _ not _ carry the same morals as your  _ dear _ Hiccup.” _

_ Krogan smiles at Viggo mockingly, and pulls him down to the floor, where he rolls Viggo over, and straddles his hips backwards. _

_ Viggo’s breathing hitches, as Krogan rubs his hand down Viggo’s leg until he comes across one of Viggo’s boots from which he slides both sock, and boot off from each foot, and then picks up the knife from the floor next to him. _

_ Krogan starts to hum the soft melody of his mother’s lullaby under his breath, running a hand down Viggo’s calf until he’s able to feel Viggo’s achilles tendon twitching under his fingers. _

_ “Now, where to cut,” he purrs, and runs the blade of the knife up the back of Viggo’s heel. _

_ He frowns- oh no, this would be far too fast of a kill if he cut Viggo’s achilles tendon. Krogan stands up, and places a hand in the small of Viggo’s back, as he twisted around, and settled in the opposite direction. _

_ “What… what are you doing?!” _

_ Krogan runs a hand up Viggo’s arm, still humming contentedly, as his fingers wrap around Viggo’s wrist _

_ He scoots up a little bit, and leans forward, running the edge of the knife along the length of Viggo’s pointer finger, until it’s just above Viggo’s third knuckle, where he forces Viggo’s hand into the floor. His humming grows louder, as he drives the knife all the way through Viggo’s finger, and Viggo’s scream of agony rattles the air. _

_ Krogan hears the blood splattering the floor, as he moves on to Viggo’s middle finger, first slicing it down the middle, all the way down to Viggo’s first knuckle, as Viggo shrieks. _

_ “Stop! Krogan Stop!” _

_ Krogan continues to hum, ignoring Viggo’s pleas, as he cuts off the rest of Viggo’s middle finger. _

_ Krogan smirks softly- his handwriting probably wasn’t the best anymore, but, now he wanted everyone to know when they found Viggo’s lifeless corpse, just what he truly was. _

_ Krogan slices the first letter into Viggo’s back, and then the next, and a few moments later, the final letter of the first word is carved into Viggo’s back- Coward, it reads. _

_ Krogan runs his fingers along the deep cuts, a happy smile on his lips. _

_ Viggo is blubbering fearfully like a child, and Krogan speaks up. _

_ “Do you know the story of the littlest dragon hunter, Viggo?” Krogan purrs out, as he starts to carve the next word into Viggo’s back. _

_ “...No?” _

_ Krogan’s smile broadened, sowing far too many teeth. _

_ “Well, there was a boy. He dreamed of being like his father. Of being strong and powerful.” Krogan finishes carving the lines of a ‘p’ into. “The boy's father forbade him from going into the woods, even though his mother let him do so whenever he wanted, trying to warn the boy of the giant timberwolves that lived there that would hunt and kill him.”  _

_ Krogan hummed, wiping the knife of in Viggo’s hair, and began cutting again.  _

_ “But, the little boy never listened, always saying it would never happen. His mother supported him, telling him all of the sweet little lies she could about his father, and spoiling him  _ rotten _ with unneeded gifts, until, one day, the boy was playing deep in the forest.” _

_ Krogan was half done with the word now and he began to wrap up his story. _

_ “The wolves were none too kind to the little boy, and soon there was a flaming ship being sent out to sea.” Krogan finished the word- spoiled- and gently ran the blade along Viggo’s cheek. _

_ “You should have listened to your father, little boy.” _


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the length of this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed the last one!

“Bad dreams are normal, Krogan!” Ruffnut jested, and she gently punts his shoulder. “I have plenty of bad dreams now and then!”

Krogan shook his head.

“This… wasn’t a normal nightmare, Ruff,” he states quietly, and he feels her scoot closer to him so she can wrap her arm around him.

“What was it about?”

Krogan shivered.

“I… I  _ tortured _ Viggo to death, all for the sick satisfaction of protecting you and the riders, and,” he took a deep breath. “I like to think that I still don’t get off from others' pain.”

Ruffnut gives a short noise of distress, and then completely, although awkwardly wraps her arms around Krogan’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Big Guy.” she pauses, “How bad was it?”

“What?”

“How much pleasure did you take from other people’s pain?”

Krogan knew the answer to that one, but he wasn’t sure if Ruff would judge him over it.

“It was like being high, Ruff. It felt good, and it distracted me from my pain.” he stated.

“So you weren’t inherently trying to be malicious, correct?”

Krogan blinked.

“How is  _ torturing _ people not trying to be malicious?” Krogan asks quickly, even as Ruffnut laughs.

“I torture my brother all the time and I’m not trying to be malicious! I’m just having fun!”

“I didn’t torture them for fun, Ruffnut, I either forced myself to, or started doing it, and I couldn’t stop.” Krogan stops to think about it. “Oh  _ Thor _ , it was like I was on  _ drugs _ .” he moaned, and Ruffnut patted his back from her hug.

She quickly crawled into his lap, and planted a small kiss on his forehead.

“It’s alright, Krogan, we all make mistakes, and that dream was probably just that- a dream. Not everything is a sign of something bad happening.” She reassured, and nuzzled against his nose, 

“Sometimes dreams are just dreams Krogan, you have to remember that.”


	13. Chapter Twelve

“Hiccup, if you want to strike down both Viggo, and Johann, you are going to need my help.” Krogan nags.

“Krogan, you can’t see! You aren’t going on the battlefield!”

Krogan shakes his head, placing both of his hands flat on the table in front of him.

“That’s not what I mean, Hiccup. I’m the only one here who knows how they tick. I’m the only one who knows what their weaknesses are.” He snarls, now thoroughly irritated. “I want to provide directions from behind the front lines.” Krogan finishes, his face flushing with embarrassment the second he finishes his statement, knowing that he’d already been a little too harsh.

“Krogan has a point, Hiccup,” Astrid announces from behind him. “Why don’t you let him give you the information he has, Hiccup. It could be helpful.”

Krogan nods along with Astrid, as he feels her long fingers rub up his neck, before pulling out a chair for him.

“Krogan, sit down.”

She holds onto his shoulders, and directs him into the chair.

“What do you have about them, Krogan?”

Krogan laughs.

“Hiccup, there is plenty of dirt I have on both of them. Who would you like me to talk about first?”

“Viggo, preferably.” Hiccup’s voice is brimming with anger, and Krogan raises his eyebrows at that.

“Viggo is probably one of the most self absorbed human beings I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting Hiccup.” Krogan stated. “His weakness is that he thinks  _ too _ highly of himself, and can’t follow orders given to him because he can’t stand not being in charge of everyone.” 

“How so?”

Astrid’s fingers began to play with his hair, and he smiled.

“Evidently, the spoiled brat thinks that when I went looking for him to hire him, he would be in charge of  _ me,  _ instead of the other way around, like it is. The attack on the Edge had been all my idea, and yet he just wanted to take over  _ everything  _ he could get his stupid, grubby little hands on.” Krogan rants, “And even then, he was only there because he thought we needed to drag his pansy ass along, because  _ he _ needed to be the one to find the Dragon Eye.”

Krogan rolls his eyes at that.

“Viggo can’t even fight very well. He’s useless. The way through him, is to make him brag about himself- his ego will take over his precious, pea-sized little mind, and completely  _ destroy _ him.”

Hiccup makes a noise of shock.

“I… Viggo seems pretty smart whenever he goes up against us?”

Krogan laughs, although it was a noise void of any mirth or joy.

“Viggo always liked rubbing it in my face that he was smarter than me because he could fluently read and write, and told me that made him smarter. Myself, I see it as that he doesn’t have any common sense picking on me like that,” Krogan smirks “Seeing as I was raised to be Drago Bludvist’s weapon of mass destruction, I could easily rip his scrawny arms from his body if I so pleased.” 

There is a stunned silence from both Hiccup and Astrid.

“He harassed you just because you can’t read and write properly?” Hiccup asks disbelievingly, and Krogan gives a frustrated sigh..

“Yes,” A devious smile pulls at his lips. “I even started acting like a complete muttonhead to piss him off. I would get yelled at for being a stupid fool for it by him, but it was  _ well  _ worth it.” 

“So Viggo has no common sense?”

“Correct. He’s a pompous fool who thinks he’s better than everyone for having been born into a rich family. He even mistreated Ryker, from what I understand, so I really understand why his brother deserted him in the first place.”

Hiccup makes a noise of acknowledgement.

“I’m writing down notes, alright? So far, I have that Viggo’s not good with teamwork, and that he doesn’t have common sense.” Hiccup states quietly.

Krogan nods.

“A good strategy with Viggo is sabotage. You sabotage his relationship with Johann, they’ll be at each other’s throats, and one will probably end up killing the other.”

“Okay, now what about Johann?”

Krogan leaned back into his chair.

“Simple. Johann is easy to anger. He is too quick to judge people, and, once again, if you are able to place some tension on his and Viggo’s relationship, they’ll tear one another apart trying to get the upper hand over the other, if they aren’t already doing it by now.”

“Why’s that?”

Krogan smiles sheepishly.

“I… was kind of their mediator.”

“So it’s as simple as letting doubt into their head?”

“Yes.”

Krogan perks up slightly.

“They probably also won’t have a good rider in the sky to command their air troops, either and you need to take advantage of that, Hiccup. Those men may have powerful dragons, but they don’t know how to cooperate with them like Juniper and I do.”

“Because they don’t have a real bond.” Astrid states.

“Yes, that, and unless Viggo decides to get his cowardly ass on a dragon, it’s going to be hard to relay orders from their ships to their air troops. It’s basically going to be a free-for-all.”

“Alright, now we need a plan.”

Krogan smiles.

“My idea is, you can set up a false meeting for a false surrender, and as Viggo and Johann will only be expecting you and your riders, bring all of your allies, and stage an ambush. They won’t be expecting it, and most of all, Viggo and Johann will most likely bring all of their troops as a hope of exterminating you all then and there.”

Krogan pauses so Hiccup and Astrid can catch up.

“So far, it sounds interesting.”

Krogan’s grin widens. 

“Since you will outnumber them, draw away the flyers from the ships. It will make their ships more vulnerable to attack from your own vessels and ground troops when they hit land, and the flyers will essentially be flying blind without someone giving orders, so they will be easy to take out, and then maneuver your air troops back over to the ships when you’ve finished with the flyers. They won’t see any of it coming.”


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Short chapter, I know. But, I hope you enjoy!

Krogan’s soft slumber was disturbed by the sound of footsteps.

They circled around him, cautious. 

Krogan kept his eyes closed, and pretended he was still sleeping- he didn’t recognise those footsteps, and he didn’t like them, either.

Krogan fisted his hand around the handle of his knife as the person took another step closer, waiting for them to be in distance to stab.

A floorboard creaked next to his head, and he lunged, eyes flashing open, and limbs flailing, as he landed on top of the startled person, who screamed in pain, waking up both Hiccup, and Toothless in the loft above.

“What’s going on?” 

The sound of a candle flickering on reached his ears, and Krogan growled, pressing the knife to the person’s throat.

The person struggled.

“She’d said ye’ were helpless!”

Bells of familiarity rang at the back of Krogan’s head, and he got into the person’s face.

“ _ Who _ said that,”

“Savage!” Hiccup’s hands pulled at Krogan’s shoulders, and Krogan growls again.

“Who are you working for,  _ maggot _ ?” He hisses loudly.

“Krogan stop! If we kill him, whoever he’s working for will know that something is up!”

Krogan pulls the knife from the man’s throat, and pulls both himself and the intruder to their feet, before hauling the other man into the air by an arm.

“Who do you work for, scavenger?”

The man laughs nervously.

“Ye’ ain’t at all like ‘iccup, ‘at’s fer sure…” he trails off, and Krogan gives another, long angry growl. 

“Let’s bring this to the clubhouse, shall we Krogan?”

Krogan nods, and slings the man over his shoulder.

“Argonia’s one of the ‘est bounty ‘unters ‘ere is!” Savage pleads, and Krogan raises his eyebrow.

“You aren’t that smart, my friend.” He purrs “You hand me in, and she’ll give you  _ none _ of that gold, if there even is gold for me.” Krogan hisses angrily. “Viggo didn’t have the decency to pay me when I brought him what he wanted, so what makes you think he’ll do the same for you?”

The man blubbers helplessly, as Krogan gets up into his face, and pulls out the same, jagged knife he had before.

“Why don’t I send you home to her with a little warning to not come back, okay?” He purrs sweetly, a smile pulling at his lips, and he gives a deep, joyful laugh.

“Hiccup, do you have a needle and some thread?”

“Why?”

Krogan smiles.

“Loose lips are no friend of mine.”


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Will be descriptions of gore in this chapter! Be forewarned!

It had been a few weeks since Krogan had heard of any bounty hunters, and now that Hiccup had calmed down about the threat, Krogan had decided that it was time for some alone time.

He had grabbed his axe, assuring Hiccup that if anything were to happen to him, he’d have it under control, and decided to try and find a place that was more… private than in the mess of huts and gangplacks that made up the Edge’s main base.

Krogan had also gotten significantly better at navigating by himself, thanks to Astrid, as he listened and felt around his surroundings more than he used to.

Krogan rubbed a hand along the side of a tree, his ears perked for any unusual noises, before he slipped from the path, and into the woods, moving slowly and as quietly as he could.

Not long afterwards, Krogan picked up the soft, fresh scent of water, as he took his first step into a clearing.

Krogan smiled softly, and put out his left hand, starting to walk, until he came across the hard, wooden remains of a tree stump.

He set his bag down, and sat down on the stool, carefully pulling his axe from his back, as he didn’t want to cut himself- the blades were still sharp enough to cut flesh, but they were getting too dull for his liking.

He placed his axe on his lap, and pulled out the small tin of oil, as well as a small, portable stone he found worked exceptionally well for grinding out imperfections and sharpening his blades, and a small, soft-bristled brush for polishing and buffing the metal.

Krogan spread his legs, and placed the weapon in between his thighs, and grabbed the stone first.

Krogan started with the blades at the very top of the weapon, and scraped away the excess metal blunting the blades. 

Then, he grabbed the soft bristle brush, and dumped a small amount of oil on it, before running a hand along the top of each blade, following with the hand that held the brush.

He was halfway done with the blunted side of the head when he heard the distinct sound of footsteps. 

He didn’t recognise these ones, but it was obvious that the person had no clue how to sneak up on someone.

He didn’t freeze up, but he nonchalantly flipped his axe over, and grasped onto its handle, and waited. When the footsteps stopped behind him, and there was the sound of a sword being drawn, he bolted to his feet, wrapped both of his hands firmly around the base of his axe, and swung as he turned.

A sharp cry met his ears, and Krogan tilted his head, hearing the sword thunk into the grass a few feet from him.

He grits his teeth, and lunges at the person.

He wrapped his fingers around thick, rough fabric attached to a thin, feminine waist, and ripped the person from the ground with as much force as he could muster.

He slammed them to the floor, and placed a boot on their chest.

“Why are you here?” he snarled, rage filling the pit of his stomach.

“I’m here for you, sugar.” 

Krogan snarls loudly- it’s the woman from before. 

He thinks about going and getting help, but what if she has other things on her that could hurt him?

He takes his best option, and shoves his boot down harder on her chest, but before he hears the snapping of bones, he’s launched off of her by a swift kick to the shin- his bad shin- his leg never quite healed from the wound he’d taken to it years ago, and it  _ hurt _ .

He gasped out a shocked noise, dropping his axe, and fell against the tree stump.

“Huh, I’m surprised that worked,”

He felt the woman step over him, and start to straddle his hips.

“I hope Viggo doesn’t mind me using you for some fun, dear.” 

The whisper makes his rage flare up again, and he feels her leaning in.

Krogan snarls again, but waits for the right moment to strike, as she pins his arms against the stump with one hand, he heard her pulling down her pants, and he stiffens, waiting for her to start playing with his belt, calm and quiet despite the fact that he know what she’s trying to do.

Then, it happened.

The woman leaned forward, and went to plant a kiss on his lips, and Krogan gave a snarling growl, before lunging at her throat with his teeth.

He hit his mark and was able to shove her off of him, flipping them over so that he was on top of her.

Krogan dug his teeth deeper into her neck, tasting blood in his mouth.

He rips his head back and forth like a dog, causing more warm, sticky copper to crawl down his mouth.

All the while, the woman screamed in agony, and Krogan had no clue that the knife was coming, until it embedded itself into his side.

Now it was his turn to scream, and he reeled away from her dying form, as her hands were too weak to keep a good hold on him.

Krogan pushed a hand to the wound, and gave another sharp yelp, as pain sliced through his muscles.

He pulled himself to his feet, giving a sharp cry of pain, while he fumbled through the woods, once in a while giving a soft whimper.

But then, as soon as he gets out to the path, nettles snag at his feet, and he bonelessly collapses to the ground, unconscious in seconds when he hits his head against the rough ground.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was kind of busy, so I hope you enjoy this!

_ Krogan once again hung from his wrists, in front of Viggo, in just his trousers, looking on tiredly as the man’s hands fluttered across the table of tools and instruments of pain. _

_ “Now, Viggo took a small knife, and slowly turned around, a sickening smile on his face. “Let’s see what this can do.” _

_ Viggo approached him, and slid the length of the blade along Krogan’s throat, making him shiver.  _

_ Viggo moved the knife down, and began to slice into Krogan’s flesh. _

_ He tried to scream, but nothing came out. _

Krogan snapped awake, and bolted upright, only to yell out in pain, as his side gave a hideous throb of pain.

A gush of warmth spreads down his side, and a chill runs up his bare back. 

He presses a hand to his side, feeling the coarse material of slightly warmth dampened bandages, and hisses softly in pain.

“Hey, ‘bout time you woke up,” Hiccup’s gentle voice echoes at him from across the room, and he glances towards it with a soft noise of confusion.

“Wha’ ‘appened?” Krogan’s throat was sore and hoarse, and he blinked.

He hears Hiccup sit down in front of him, and the young man’s small hands laced themselves into Krogan’s own.

“A bounty hunter found you, and, uh,” Hiccup clears his throat. “You… you ripped her throat out, and she stabbed you.”

One of Hiccup’s thumbs rubs a soothing circle into Krogan’s hand. 

“Oh.” Krogan closes his eyes, as Hiccup removes one of his hands, and lifts Krogan’s arm.

“Ya’ broke open your stitches.” he states simply, and then Hiccup gets up. “I’ll go get Fishlegs. Don’t move.”

It was a little while before Krogan heard Fishlegs’s soft footsteps, and by that time he’d half dozed off.

Krogan started slightly when Fishlegs’s hands gently began removing the dirty bandages, and he slid his eyes open.

Fishlegs chuckled softly.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up, Krogan.”

Krogan grunted, as there was the sting of alcohol being poured over his wound, and then, the feeling of his skin pulling and stretching against broken stitches.

“This might hurt a little, Krogan.”

He nods slowly, not really paying attention, while Fishlegs sewed him back up again, and then gently patted the wound dry, and re-wrapped it.

Fishlegs string his arm underneath his shoulder, before gently lifting up Krogan, and let him lean against him.

“Where are we going?” he asked quietly.

“Astrid made you some nettle stew. It should help with the pain a little, come on.”

“Okay,” 

Krogan let Fishlegs guide him, and he closed his eyes contentedly once the sun hit his bare skin, and the smell of fresh air wafted across his nose.

But, there was also the smell of something else on the air- it smelled soft and sweet, but he knew it wasn’t the nettle soup, as that had a more fruity scent, whereas this was more… woody.

“What’s that smell?” 

Fishlegs chuckles.

“You can smell the tea all the way out here?  _ Wow _ .” 

Fishlegs helps him limp his way into the Clubhouse, where everyone was apparently waiting, as he was suddenly bombarded by a horde of worried questions from both the twins, and Snotlout.

“Hey! Guys! Keep it  _ down _ .” Hiccup shouts over the chaos, and the three quiet down.

“Are you okay?” it’s Snotlout, although he asks the question softly, worry clear in his voice. “It was Hookfang who found you,”

Krogan gave the boy a weak smile.

“Tell him I say thank you then,” 

Astrid runs her hands through Krogan’s hair, and places two bowls down in front of Krogan.

“I put a straw in your tea so you don’t spill it.” she states, and he feels her sit down behind him, “I’m going to fix your hair a little, alright? It’s getting kinda long.”

Krogan nods, and lets her do as she pleases while he eats.

Just another normal day on the edge, it seemed.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Back at it again!

_ Johann and Viggo had chosen that day to attack. There was no warning, before their huts were being bombarded by fireballs.  _

_ Krogan had been jolted awake by the very first shudder of the fireballs cracking against the top of his and Hiccup’s shared hut. _

_ Then, he smelled the smoke, and Krogan heard the cries of the Singetails. _

_ Krogan stumbled to his feet, and pulled on his clothing. _

_ “Hiccup!” the yell went unheard, as Hiccup wasn’t in his bed like he should have been.  _

_ A yell from outside broke his thoughts of panic, and he grabbed his axe. _

_ “Lure him out, he can’t be very far from here!” Viggo. _

_ Krogan gripped the handle of his axe tighter with an angry snarl. _

_ He’d kill him himself if he had to. _

_ Krogan slowly creeped up into the rafters, waiting. _

_ The sounds of boots echoed on the floorboards, and Krogan coiled his muscles, ready to pounce. _

_ “He’s got to be in here somewhere…” _

_ The voices were directly beneath him now, and Krogan pulled his daggers from their sheaths. _

_ He took a deep breath, and lunged. _

_ Krogan landed on top of one of the men, impaling his knives through the man’s eye sockets.  _

_ He stood then, pulling his knives out with a low snarl, before turning around to the other man. _

_ That was when there was the sharp prick of something in the back of his neck, and Krogan turned around, only for a wave of dizziness to spread across his frame, and he was entangled in the sick vines of unconsciousness. _

Sweat drooled down Krogan’s forehead, as he bolted awake. It was still seemingly the middle of the night, and Krogan unentangled himself from his covers. He gave a soft moan as soon as the cool, night air hit the bare skin of his chest.

The door to Hiccup’s hut was still probably closed, but Krogan enjoyed the cool air for what it was worth.

He looked down at the floor, and wrung his hands through his hair.

Astrid had been right- it had been getting long- a few thick, curly strands went down to about the middle of the bridge of his nose. 

He played with the soft strands for a little bit, before growing bored, and looked around again.

Krogan sighs- he wasn’t at all tired anymore, and that dream he’d had made chills crawl up his spine. Viggo wouldn’t dare look for him here. Why would he think the riders took him in.

Especially after the things he’d done.

Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes.

He never really learned how to read, and he could barely even write his own name, as Drago was too focused on creating a human weapon instead of raising his nephew.

He’d been fed well though, although Krogan had found, even though he’d retained the exact same exercise routine, that he’d gained a little weight- he could feel it when he rubbed his hands down his sides that his hips had gained a slight feminine flare to them. 

Maybe Drago hadn’t been giving him enough food, then.

Krogan leaned back against the wall, and picked at the bandages on his side for a bit- he’d healed enough to have his stitches taken out, but Fishlegs had insisted on keeping the bandages on, even though now they made him itch from their roughness.

He blinks. 

It was yet another mystery he didn’t understand.

Why was it that the ones who used to treat him as an enemy, now treated him as their kin?


	18. Chapter Seventeen

When Krogan was pulled from his deep slumber, it was by Hiccup, who, from what he could tell, was at his desk, probably working on something.

Krogan sits up, and the furs wrapped around him bunch around his waist. His brows furrowed with confusion.

“Hiccup?” he rasps out, flinching slightly at the loud clatter of metal, and Hiccup’s angry grumbling.

“I’m sorry, big guy, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Hiccup’s tone completely changes, as his soft footsteps stride over to the side of the makeshift bed.

“Well, today’s the day you are getting those bandages off, my friend,” Hiccup states, as he helps him to his feet.

“Put on your boots and your pants, and I’ll go get Fishlegs, okay?”

Fishlegs’s tender hands gently pulled the bandages away from Krogan’s side, with Fishlegs clicking his tongue softly.

The boy gently runs a chubby finger along the wound.

Krogan hisses loudly at the sharp stab of pain that snaps into his side, and flinches away.

“It’s going to scar.” Fishlegs states quietly.

Krogan nods. 

He already knew that.

It was about the middle of the afternoon, and now, Krogan was once again being plagued by those nagging incessant questions of the Rider’s acceptance of him.

Krogan leaned his axe against the wall and cleared his throat.

“Hiccup?”

“Yes?” Hiccup’s question was quiet and happy, as if he was overjoyed to listen to him.

“Why did you take me in?”

Hiccup made a noise of discomfort, and his footsteps hesitantly walked towards where he was sitting on his bed.

“What do you mean, big guy?” he questioned, and Krogan swallowed.

“I’m useless to you. Why did you take me in?” He mumbles.

Hiccup’s hands intertwine with his own, and he can hear the nervousness in Hiccup’s voice, as he adds,

“It wasn’t about your usefulness, Krogan.”

Krogan’s head spins with confusion, as the nagging voices at the back of his head still continue to scream their doubts at full volume.

“What was it about, then?” Krogan questions. He can already feel his throat tightening with emotion.

“You were hurt, and you needed help.” Hiccup states confidently, squeezing his hands, and trying to be comforting.

“So you lended your kindness to me, even though I was your enemy?”

“Stances can change quickly, Krogan.” Hiccup squeezes his hands again.

“Wha-”

Hiccup interrupts Krogan by simply pulling him into an embrace, and rubbing his back.

“When we were fighting against you, I only saw your cruel facade. But, I see you now for who you truly are,”

Krogan knows Hiccup is trying to be comforting, but it’s not working.

“And what is that? A monster?” he chokes out.

“Krogan,  _ no _ \- where are you getting that idea?” Hiccup’s words are not sharp, but they are scolding, as he runs a hand through his hair.

“But, that’s all I was ever told I was!” Krogan shoves Hiccup away from him, his eyes tingling with unshed tears.

Hiccup pulls him closer, as tears begin burning at the corners of his eyes.

“Krogan, I don't believe that you are one.”

“ _ Why _ ?” a tear slides down Krogan’s cheek.

“Because you are one of the most gentle, caring souls I’ve ever met.” Hiccup reassures.

Krogan gives a shaky sob, and Hiccup pulls him closer.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

“How long is  _ he _ supposed to be here again?” Krogan growls angrily. He feels like a caged animal with Dagur here, in  _ his _ home.

“What do you mean, Krogan?” Hiccup asks, nonchalant, or seemingly oblivious to Krogan’s seething rage.

“I don’t know,  _ Haddock _ , who do you think I’m talking about?” he grits out.

The little tendril of anger curls itself tighter around his chest when Hiccup doesn’t answer, and he takes a deep inhale.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Krogan, Dagur isn’t leaving until Heather gets better, so you are just going to have to deal with him for a little longer, okay?”

Krogan grits his teeth together, and bares his teeth at Hiccup.

Hiccup places a hand on Krogan’s shoulder.

“I’ll keep an eye on him, okay?”

Krogan snarls, and pulls away from Hiccup, heading towards the stables.

Juniper smothers him in slobber as soon as he steps into her stall, making soft, worried croons at him.

Krogan’s anger hadn’t quite abated yet, but he was happy that his girl was happy to see him.

He pulled out his scrubbing brush, and gently began to scrub down his dragon’s scales, as she purred with delight at the gentle touches.

Krogan hummed a soft tune under his breath, a smile creeping across his lips.

“Work those hips!”

Krogan’s eyes narrow, and he gives a low, dangerous growl.

“What do you  _ want _ , Dagur?”

Dagur’s footsteps echoed behind him, getting closer, and Juniper growled- if her human shared a distaste for someone, then it was best that she did as well.

“ _ I _ came to check on my dragon. But, I most definitely wasn’t expecting to come across  _ you _ , little flower,”

Krogan turned, running a hand down Juniper’s snout.

“I am  _ not _ a  _ little flower _ , Dagur.” He snaps, and Dagur’s distinct, annoying laugh echoes from in front of him.

“You are blind,  _ flower _ . It makes you delicate.  _ Soft _ . Definitely not able to take care of yourself.”

Krogan turns around completely, fisting his hands, as Dagur takes a step closer.

He pulls out his knife, and points it at the man.

“Come any closer and I will  _ not _ hesitate to hurt you,  _ maggot _ .” he snarls.

Dagur laughs, and places a hand on his knife.

Krogan growls, and rips the knife from Dagur’s grasp.

“Do  _ not _ touch me.”

Dagur takes another step closer, and places an all too harsh hand on his cheek.

“A beautiful flower such as yourself should smile more.”

Krogan makes due on his promise, and stabs his knife through Dagur’s arm.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Krogan can feel Hiccup’s glare affixed on him, feeling like the sting of hundreds of bees. The man looked away, grumbling angrily. 

“It was self defence, Hiccup.” Krogan hissed loudly in rage. “He was bugging me.” Hiccup gave a loud sigh.

“Krogan, that doesn’t mean-” Hiccup struggled for breath for a moment “You can’t just  _ stab _ him!” Hiccup burst out. Krogan rolled his eyes, and shook his head.

“Well, Krogan?” Hiccup intones.

“You know they’ll be staying longer now, right?” Hiccup stated. Krogan glared at him sharply, growling.

“Why can’t they go back to their  _ own _ island?” Krogan snarled, puffing himself up. “It’s not like they don’t have one!”

“Hey!” Krogan was smacked upside the head, and he hissed loudly in anger. “Stop that!” 

Krogan turned around to where he thought Astrid was, muttering and cursing his stupid eyes out underneath his breath.

“So you two are going to gang up on me now?” He snapped when he turned around, standing up taller than usual, trying to make them back off.

One of them sighs again.

“Krogan, you can’t just stab things that make you angry-” Krogan quickly interrupted Hiccup with an angry yell.

“I WARNED HIM BEFORE I STABBED HIM!” A stunned silence hung in the air for a few moments after the yell, the only noise being the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below them on the shore, and the sound of Krogan’s breathing.

The man balled his hands into fists, puffing himself up a bit more.

“Krogan I-” Hiccup blinked slowly. 

“Oh whatever,” Krogan snarled, turning around. “Forget it.”

grabbing his halberd as he stalked out of the clubhouse. His eyes glittered with rage as he shoved his way through the Twins, and headed directly for the forest.

He didn’t stop. Not until he realized that he was far deeper in the forest than he thought he was.

Snarling, he turned on the closest available item- a tree- and he began to beat at it with his Halberd.

The first hit sent tremors crawling down his spine. Krogan screamed into the void, yanking the blades from the tree trunk. 

He swung again, and the tree fell with a loud crash.

His eyes darted around. He violently slammed his halberd into the next tree- a younger one that barely took any force to knock to the ground.

“Well, Krogan, nice to see you haven’t gotten any tamer during your time with the riders.” Someone sneered, while Krogan gave a sharp roar of rage, spinning around to slam the blunted end of the halberd into the person’s head.

Then, he pounced, and began to beat them with it. There was only the sound of his screaming, and the dry cracking of bones, until the voice rang out behind him again.

“Oh how  _ pitiful _ ,” It hissed. “Rage is such a beautiful expression for you.” The voice mutilated into Viggo’s.

Krogan whipped back around, giving another yell. The head of Krogan’s halberd embedded itself into something tough and hard, which cracked with the force of the blow.

"Your guts would be so pretty to see spilled across the ground, would they not?” Viggo taunted him to his left, while Krogan struggled to pull his halberd from whatever it was stuck in.

“I think so,” The other man purred into his ear. Krogan pulled his halberd from the thing, and his fist ripped through empty air.

“You look so stupid right no-”

“SHUT THE HEL UP!” Krogan screeched, panting heavily, his eyes wild and furious. He was shaking uncontrollably with every shaking breath he took. 

“Krogan are yo-” A hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder, only for Krogan to roughly shove the hand from his shoulder, and slam a fist into the person’s stomach.

A loud wheeze reached his ears, as well as a pained whine.

“Ow-” 

The person thudded to the ground, and Krogan backed away, snarling.

“I deserved that-” It was Ruffnut. 

Krogan froze, his eyes going wide, while his hand loosened around his halberd. Then, it dropped to the ground with a soft thud.

“Oh-” He started, quickly sitting down on his knees.

“Ruff!” He hissed, whining afterwards. “Ruff are you okay?” Worry flushed into his veins, smothering and putting out the raging fire in his belly.

“Yeah, yeah,” She called. Her delicate hand slipped into his own. “I’m fine.” She stated. “Just-” she hissed, while she sat up next to him. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

Ruff settled down in his lap, and she patted his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.” She stated. “Should have known that would scare you.” She chuckled at him with a small giggle.

She then placed a small peck on his cheek, and Krogan flushed brightly.

“Ruff wha-”

The young woman began to knead his shoulders, earning a sharp hiss of pain from Krogan.

“Gods, Krogan-” She mumbled. “You really need to loosen up.” Her hands nicked a particularly sensitive part of his shoulder- an old arrow wound- and Krogan yelped.

“Oh, sorry about that,” She started. “That’s my fault.” With that, her motions became more gentle, and Krogan’s shoulders slumped with a moan. He closed his eyes, and leaned his head into hers.

Ruffnut took this as her chance to settle a little higher on him. Krogan’s head shifted onto her stomach, while she continued to massage his shoulders. A small pop echoed from Krogan’s left shoulder, and he hummed throatily, the noise vibrating his throat.

Ruff continued her ministrations for a little bit longer, and Krogan eased his eyes closed, huffing loudly into her belly.

She chuckled at that, but, then she stopped.

“Lay down for me.” She stated. Krogan’s eyes slipped open, and he stretched out his now strangely relaxed muscles. He got on all fours, stretching out like a cat would after a nap, his neck cracking while he groaned slightly, and then settled down with his arms and legs tucked underneath him.

Ruffnut chuckled gently at the motion.

“No, I need your legs  _ out _ .”

He did so, albeit begrudgingly, as the young lady re-settled her weight onto him- now on his hips.

She began to knead at the muscles on his back, which twitched at her touches.

Krogan leaned his head down into his arms, moaning quietly.

“There we go,” Ruffnut hummed to him.

They were silent for a while, until Krogan worked up the courage to ask her something.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked, his voice slightly muffled by his bracers.

Ruffnut chuckled gently.

“I… I was worried about you.” She stated gently. “You seemed pretty angry when you pushed by me and Tuff, so I thought I would help you calm down.”

Krogan’s lips pulled up into a smile, while he let her continue her ministrations.


End file.
